us back to frederica rice. >> such a pretty name--frederica. >> mais oui. prettier than what her friends call her, huh--freddie? [indistinct] for a young lady. >> well, there aren't many abbreviations for frederica. it's not like elizabeth where you can have dozens: eliza liz, betty, betsy, bess. >> thank you, miss lemon. yes. >> or margaret. that has a lot, too: maggie, madge. >> margot. >> peggy. >> margie, meg, meggie. >> ah, there you are, poirot. i've been looking for you. >> what's your name, chief inspector? >> name? what name? >> your first name. >> james. >> james japp. >> jim. jimmy japp. >> jamie japp. >> chief inspector japp and i will leave you to play. >> what about hercule?

>> there aren't any for hercule. >> herc? >> it may be what the murderer has been waiting for, inspector. but we cannot be sure--this is a matter of complex and hidden motives, huh? and-- oh, mon dieu. >> what's up? >> i have been blind. blind! complex, i have said? mais non. simplicity extreme, extreme! and miserable one that i am. i saw nothing!

s'il vous plait. >> this makes a nice change for me [indistinct]-- oh, bert, look. we're going to sit next to that nice captain hastings. hello.

>> good. that is all, i think, monsieur rice. >> in an ordinary case, the will of a deceased person is read after the funeral. in fact, i am proposing to read it now. although dated last february it only reached me by post this morning. however, although it is a most informal document, it is properly attested. "this is the last will and testament of magdala buckley. i appoint my cousin charles vyse as my executor. i leave everything of which i die possessed to mildred croft in grateful recognition of the services rendered by her to my

father phillip buckley, which services nothing can ever repay." signed magdala buckley. >> it's true. not that i ever meant to let on about it. phillip buckley was out in australia. if it hadn't been for me, well, i don't want to go into that. >> well, i think perhaps you ought to, mrs. croft. >> our secret it's been, and a secret it had better remain. she knew about it, though. nick, i mean. i guess her father must have told her. but if anyone says that there is no gratitude in this world, i shall tell them that they're wrong and that this proves it. >> i presume, monsieur vyse, that as the next of kin, you could contest that will, huh? there is, i understand, a vast

fortune at stake which was not the case when the will was made. >> i should not dream of contesting my cousin's disposal of her property. >> you are a very honest fellow, and i shall see that you do not lose by it. >> well, mrs. c, this-- this is a surprise, huh? >> dear, sweet girl. i wish she could look down now and see us. perhaps she does. who knows? >> perhaps. a little idea. we are fortunate indeed to have with us this evening mademoiselle lemon. now, i know that she does not like to have it bruted about

but mademoiselle felicity lemon has the pronounced powers of the medium. now, we are all here. we are seated around the table. let us hold a seance. >> oh, i've-- >> wonderful idea. >> a seance? but surely-- >> this is nonsense. >> no, no. it will be most interesting. >> why not? >> all ready, mademoiselle lemon? i'll turn the lights out. >> now, we must all join hands. is that not so, mademoiselle lemon? >> well-- >> everybody join hands and... [murmuring] >> now, please, if you please, we must have the complete silence while mademoiselle lemon goes into her trance. >> what do you think-- >> quiet, please.

>> yes. she is now going into her trance. >> is there anybody there? >> i think it's time we stop fooling about. >> shh. >> is there anybody there?

[screams] >> it's her! she's come back! [indistinct] it's her! >> you're real. >> i'm real, all right. >> my god. my god. who is responsible for this [indistinct] then? >> it was i who persuaded mademoiselle nick to pretend to be dead, i'm afraid. >> thank you so much, mrs. croft, for what you did for my

father, but i'm afraid you won't be able to enjoy the benefits of that will you forged just yet. >> oh, but it was just a joke, dear. just a joke. >> oh, it really is very funny. >> just a bit of a laugh. that's all. >> that will was a forgery. >> oh, yes, and a very fine one, too. >> you've got nothing on me. >> nothing? you forge my will, and then when i don't die to suit you, you try to murder me. >> no. >> you don't succeed, but you kill my poor cousin by mistake and you say nothing. >> we never had nothing to do with that. >> don't say anything, bert. don't say anything. >> [indistinct] forged the will. >> bert! >> we never had nothing to do with no killing. >> take them away, inspector. take them out of my house.

>> [indistinct] never had nothing to do with that girl dying. >> oh, it's so wonderful now that it's all over. i really hated doing it, deceiving you, all my nice friends. >> as long as you're all right really. i think it's time for a celebration. >> yes. >> perhaps. or perhaps it is time for the truth. chief inspector japp? >> early this evening, acting on information received from mr. poirot, i concealed myself behind a screen in the library. when everyone was assembled in the dining room, another person entered the house.

this person made their way to a secret panel in the library. they then took out the object that was in there and went out into the hall. now, this person comes out here and does a very curious thing. they put the object they removed from behind the secret panel in the pocket of one of those coats hanging there. mrs. rice? >> yes? >> just help me out, will you? go and look in the pocket of your coat. show me what's in there. >> there's nothing in there apart from my gloves. >> humor me, mrs. rice. >> gloves. >> try the other pocket.

>> it's not mine. >> if you're trying to frame her-- >> no, no. someone is trying to frame madame rice, but it is not inspector japp, and it is not poirot. merci. maggie buckley was killed. that was inescapable, but surely it was mademoiselle nick that someone was trying to kill, but that did not make sense. mademoiselle nick loves end house. is that not so, mademoiselle nick? that she is in desperate need of money enough to keep it? so what good fortune, she thinks, when she meets the worthy young aviator michael seton at [indistinct] but he does not fall in love

with her. he falls in love with someone else. >> this is rubbish. >> so an outrageous plan begins to form in the pretty head of our young lady. and when i think of this, i think of some silly things that captain hastings and miss lemon were saying, that there were many abbreviations for the name of margaret: maggie, margot, madge, etc. yes. and it occurred to me to ask myself the question: what was the real name of maggie buckley? and tout a coup, it came to me. there were two magdala buckleys. >> oh, my god. this is rubbish. freddie, it's slanderous, too. charles, you're my lawyer. >> magdala was a family name but michael seton did not know that mademoiselle nick was called also magdala. he only knows her as nick. and in his very informal will, he just says he leaves

everything to magdala buckley. >> this is untrue. it's untrue, every word of it. >> voila the person, the person who shot mademoiselle maggie-- mademoiselle nick. >> are you mad? why should i kill maggie? >> in order to inherit the money left to her by michael seton. it was to her he was secretly engaged, not you. it was with her he was in love not you. >> you silly little man. you don't know anything. you're all so stupid! let me get my watch.

come on, then. >> she'd never have got away with it, of course. >> my dear chief inspector, she very nearly did get away with it. even poirot is [indistinct] the murder of maggie buckley

was easy, but to make it doubly convincing, mademoiselle nick continued with more [indistinct] of attempts on her own life. >> what first put you onto it? >> i think the love letters of michael seton. you see, mademoiselle nick stored only those letters which did not contain the name of maggie. but there was something else about those letters. on february 27 last, mademoiselle nick underwent an operation for appendicitis. but there was a letter dated march 2 from michael seton, and he does not mention it. >> she was such a queer little girl. she couldn't help herself, you know. >> it's gonna be a very unpleasant business. i must see about some kind of defense for her, i suppose. >> i think there will be no

need. if i mistake not, there wristwatch of mademoiselle nick will obviate the necessity for a trial. because it is there, is it not that you concealed the cocaine? >> what? what the hell do you mean? >> no. do not try to deceive me, commander, with your hearty, good-fellow manner. you make a good thing of it, do you not, the trafficking of the drugs? you and your uncle in holly street. >> now, look here. >> what do you think inspector, about the trafficking of drugs? >> i'm not keen on it, as a matter of fact. i think we'd better go and have a little talk, commander. >> good god. cocaine in the wristwatches.

>> and that is why she wanted her watch, n'est-ce pas. >> oh, that's awful. >> indeed it is, miss lemon, but it is better than the rope of a hangman. it is satisfying, is it not, chief inspector, in a case when at last one knows everything? >> i thought you knew everything anyway, poirot. >> all right. >> there's one for you, chief inspector. >> oh, thank you. >> none for mr. poirot because i read an article on the train how ice cream was extremely bad for the little gray cells. >> and two for me because mine are dead already.

>> they are very amusing. are they not, chief inspector? the sea air obviously agrees with them. i think perhaps when i return to london i shall leave them here. thank you. [speaking french]

[bell rings] [bird chirping] appraiser: now, i know that you are being the good samaritan today. woman: that's right. yes. appraiser: so you've brought this in for your friend. woman: yes, i have. appraiser: now, i think it's fair to say that you were prompted or she was prompted to ask you to bring it in for one simple reason. do you want to tell me what that is? woman: she saw the program from greenwich

and she saw that you had a medallion with a monkey's face on it and she knew that she had this in the cupboard. so she said, would i bring it along today. appraiser: wonderful stuff, isn't it? woman: yes. appraiser: it's very fortuitous because i think looking around it might even be called divine intervention... woman: yes, it could. appraiser: ...because this is exactly the bowl that i was talking about. this is the very same face that was on that medallion. it had been cut out of a bowl like this. and it's called madagascar. and you've not gotten one monkey you've got 12 monkeys. i say monkeys, i think lemurs come from madagascar, so... but this is obviously the work of rené lalique. now, i have to say that the pendant was in a mount that was not made by lalique. so somebody had actually you know sort of put a stamp on there somewhat illegally. but there's nothing illegal about this. but there is one thing missing and

that is the lalique mark. i mean, i've looked everywhere in every nook and cranny and it's not there. i would have expected a stencil mark that said r. lalique. because it's important to remember that after he died in 1945 virtually everything carried simply lalique as a mark. but the thing is when i was thinking back in greenwich about this piece, i wasn't thinking exactly of this piece. now, let me just quantify that. i was thinking of a slightly more shallow bowl because there are two versions. and this, believe it or not, is actually a lamp shade. it's a light shade. if i was to hold it like so, are you with me? woman: yes. appraiser: and that's why the base is not sort of leveled out. it's not been drilled. it would have been drilled originally. but if i can be so bold as just to show you those colors because this technique of opalescence

is not peculiar to lalique lots of other people understudy. but he uses it to great effect. because i'm just going to put this over a very bright light and we're just going to see how those colors change. can you see? woman: oh, that's lovely. appraiser: here we go. we're going down here. and quite remarkable. quite remarkable. so... this is very good of you to bring this in today. woman: it is. appraiser: is she paying you to do this? woman: well, i did say that if it was worth anything she would pay my bus fair. appraiser: okay. so if i tell you this is worth without the mark a minimum of 3,000 pounds, do you think you're in for your bus fair? woman: i think i am, yes. that's wonderful, isn't it? she's going to be so thrilled. appraiser: and all on the strength of 12 chinky monkeys. woman: that's wonderful. oh, she's going to be so thrilled. appraiser: well, i reckon there are a number of adjectives that could be applied to this.

and i'd like to hear what you think. what's your adjective for this? woman: i think the first one is ornate. appraiser: ornate. and the next one? woman: i think unusual. appraiser: unusual. well, i'm going to chip in with potentially gruesome, and exotic. i think that's the one i'm going to go for. you've known it for long? woman: it's always been around it belonged to my grandmother, which is how i came to own it. i just always remember it being there, but i've never known exactly what it was or much about it. appraiser: i think there are two possibilities to where it's come from. one is beamed in from saturn. the other one, it was made in bohemia which is northern czech republic today, in about 1880. that's of approximately its date. so, i mean, what was it for? well, i think it's just for showing off. i think that it has - i mean, clearly, you can store stuff in it if you absolutely insist. but i think it's just for showing

off. it's to give the owners the satisfaction of simple possession. and it's a very luxurious thing. i mean, this wasn't knocked out for half a crown. this was an expensive piece of luxury glass in its day. and there's tons and tons of quality about it. there are layers of glass laid on top of one another. they've all been hand cut. and then this silver or platinum, has been laid onto the top of it to create an effect, which is unadulterated luxury. do you actually like it? woman: i think so because it's been around for so long. it's part of the family. appraiser: and sort of worked its way under your skin and it was absorbed. woman: yes. appraiser: so, when it comes to evaluation, we're talking about something that's increased a lot in value. and two years ago, probably 150 to 200 pounds. now, 5, 6, 700 pounds on auction valuation now. woman: goodness. i never knew it would be any sort of value really

because i didn't think my family would have had anything of any value. i guess it's existed it hasn't got broken. appraiser: no, it's certainly that, and i reckon that glass doesn't come much more fruity than that. woman: thank you.